You must have got your eyes on a lot about how you should do makeup if you wear glasses. But, I know many women who wear coloured contact lenses than glasses, that too daily ( with the makeup of course, and why not?). This comes as a bit of styling conundrum because makeup with contact lens often leaves you with irritated eyes. So, how many of you have had a fleck of shadow stuck underneath your contacts? Or ended up dirtying your lenses so much that you had to open a new pack?
If this sounds like a relatively recent situation you lived in, then don’t worry; we’ve got you covered. Here some makeup tips for those who wear contacts lenses and just can’t ditch makeup:
1. Wash Your Hands, for Heaven’s Sake.
Make it a rule of thumb to insert your lenses before you begin your makeup routine, even before you apply moisturizer. It is because if you do it the other way around, you can dirty your lenses with any makeup residue left on your fingers. So make sure your hands are squeaky clean before you do your lens job. Also, ensuring the 100- percent dryness of your hands also comes vital. It is because tap water can contain a parasite called an Acanthamoeba -something too dangerous for your eyes.So don’t expose the most delicate part of your body to the danger and make sure you wash and dry your hands before you start any makeover look.
2. Always Use Oil-Free Products.
The oil found in your makeup products (especially around your eyes) has a very fair tendency of working its way through contours of your face and into your eyes. Take it as a salad dressing: oil and water will not mix, and your contact lenses will attract the oil. However, it will not hurt your eyes, but cloudy lenses make it difficult to see correctly.
3. Stay away from the lid ledge.
Did you know what the lid ledge is? Let me get this straight for you! It is the part of the eyelid that touches the surface of eyeballs, opening up the oil glands of your eyes. If those oil glands get blocked due to makeup particles, it can result in dry eyes, dirty lenses, and sightlessness. You want to place your lashes between your makeup and eyeball; however, I feel sorry to put this straight; but, colored contact lenses wearers might need to keep tight-lining(lining to your waterline) at bay.
4. Ask more of your mascara.
Nobody likes to finish with clumpy mascaras, but you should have a hate-hate relationship with it if you are a colored contact lens wearer. Clumps of mascara or excess makeup particles can fall and go into the eyes. This can then be trapped underneath the contacts, which becomes way too uncomfortable—been there done that? So, the same is the case with mascaras that have fibers. This is why you should stick to waterproof mascara or other traditional lengthening and volumizing eye mascaras, not necessarily the one with fiber particles.
5. Get daily lenses.
If you are into makeup as much as I am and wear it daily with lenses in your eyes, then you better get yourself affordable daily contact lenses. I did the same, and before that, I had a good time complaining of red, dry, and itchy eyes. And then, I ended up with conjunctivitis. Even after that, they are a tad pricier than biweeklies (it was worth it though). Since I started doing that, I barely experience redness and irritation in my eyes, and I chalk it up to get started with a fresh new makeup look every day with a residue-free pair of lenses.
6. If you do not get dailies, try being diligent about cleaning.
If you are not comfortable wearing disposable daily wear lenses, two-week lenses can totally be your thing. However, these lenses demand your personal care and eye-hygiene practices more than anything. This means, make sure you clean your lens with the multi-purpose solution it comes with every night. Rub your contacts for about 15-20 secs to dissolve the grime left on them and place them in the case; do I need to mention a fresh solution? Also, it is essential to clean your lens-case daily, using the solution or three-percent hydrogen peroxide, to clean both the bottom and the top. You will be surprised to know that many eye infections are due to dirty cases. And mostly the top of the case is the culprit because no one really thinks about that part.
7. Get some lid wipes.
Once, an optometrist recommended me to buy lid wipes to completely get rid of all the makeup residue and prevent eye irritation. This is by far the best recommendation I got regarding eye-care. Therefore I recommend this to my readers as well, who wear heavy makeup and aren’t good at taking it off.
